Traitors of Oblivion
by Storm Reaper VII
Summary: While training with Kairi in Merlin's realm, Axel gets two unexpected visitors that really should be there. They want him to pay for his past and he's having enough problems training with his newly acquired Keyblade. The Assassin of the old Organization makes his stand...


_**Traitors of Oblivion**_

"Darn… this thing just isn't clicking no matter how much I force it," a red haired man in a black coat said to himself as he watched the weapon he held slowly dissolve, pieces of his newly acquired keyblade burning away to magical ash as it lost its form. Instead of trying to fight it, Axel decided that he'd let it disappear for now and try to work with it in a second. Even if summoning his Keyblade was starting to come to him much more naturally, keeping the thing summoned for too long was another story. It felt like he was fighting to keep it in its new form and if he didn't it would turn back to one of his chakrams, which given the Keyblade's design wouldn't be too big of a stretch.

Taking a seat on a nearby rock, he gave a slightly annoyed sigh at his training results. If he didn't have an eternity or… however time really worked in this weird realm, he would've been a little worried about his lack of progress. Axel had a hard time wrapping his head around how the training realm really worked and how much time he really had left. Now he was starting to wish that he'd asked Luxord about his time altering magic during _Poker Night_ back in the Organization. For now though he'd just have to do his best to make sure his Keyblade slinging skills were up to snuff… whilst keeping up appearances for Kairi.

'_That girl…'_ he thought to himself, looking up into the sky. '_She's an odd one; almost seems impossible to faze her.' _Axel smirked to himself. '_Guess that's what she gets for being around Sora.'_

When Axel had been told that he'd be training with Kairi in Merlin's realm, he'd been a little worried how they'd have to get along given their history. Out of all of the things he'd done in the old Organization XIII, kidnapping Kairi was one of the things he still regretted doing the most. He fully expected her to give him a deserved cold shoulder and train separately, but evidently someone had put in a good word for him. It was that or Kairi was honestly that forgiving of a person, she _was_ a Princess of Heart after all.

Maybe it was that personality that made her so in tune with her Keyblade. While Axel swore that his Keyblade was fighting against him whenever he tried to summon it, Kairi could call on hers as easily as if she was breathing. Any progress he'd made in calling his own weapon could be largely attributed to trying to mimic her summoning. At first he thought that she was going to leave him behind in the dust with how much of a natural she seemed to be, but it then became readily apparent that she'd need his help with actual combat. It wasn't that Kairi was weak, just that she lacked actual experience in combat. Whilst Axel had done plenty of combat missions for the Organization, Kairi had never really been one for fighting. He remembered her joking to him that now she wished that she'd joined in when Sora and Riku sword fought as kids instead of just watching the two of them go at it and laughing when they'd both run each other so ragged that they couldn't even stand.

"...Gotta make sure she gets through this," the former assassin said to himself. "I owe that much to her and… maybe I owe it to that other her as well." Right, _that_ mystery. As if he didn't already have enough to worry about. "No point in dwelling on it now, time to get back to-"

He couldn't finish his sentence as he heard something; a soft, short, but terrible sound. He remembered when he was back in the Organization he'd almost be relieved at time whenever he'd heard it because it would mean the end of his mission and soon he'd be catching some Z's or grabbing Sea-Salt Ice Cream with Roxas, but that was back when they were on the same side. Now the _Dark Corridors_ only meant one thing; a new threat.

"Not good," he said under his breath as he turned to face the _Dark Corridor_ behind him and whoever was going to come out of it. From the the portal emerged two hooded members of the newer Organization… though he even with their hoods he'd worked with them both long enough to recognize them both at just a glance. "Out of everyone… Why did it have to be you two?"

"What's wrong? Not happy to see us?" Larxene's voice taunted to him maliciously as she removed her hood revealing the strawberry blonde hair that lay beneath styled into her familiar two antennas. She almost looked exactly the same as when Axel had gone on missions with her in the past, save for her eyes. Once a deep blue, they'd since been turned yellow due to Xehanort's influence and claiming her as one of his heart vessels.

"You're not the first people I'd want to get a surprise visit from. In fact I'd say your pretty close to the bottom of that list," Axel shot back, trying to keep a calm complexion as the portal behind them closed. Things wouldn't be good if things came to blows here. He was outnumbered, his Keyblade training wasn't complete yet, and he there was no telling what sort of power boost either of them had gotten since the last time he'd faced off against either of them.

"How sad…" the other said as they two removed their hood. Marluxia's voice had always been cold and merciless, but under Xehanort's influence that seemed to be taken to another level. At one point Axel might've found him hard to take seriously with that bright pink hair, but by now he certainly knew better. He'd seen what Marluxia could do with that scythe of his and he wasn't in any rush to be on the receiving end of it. "...You look different. Have you gained weight?"

"That's how you say hello after all this time? Honestly… I dunno, a pound or two maybe? I mean I admit I've been going a little overboard on the Ice Cream lately," Axel admitted before sending the both of them a taunting smirk. "Or maybe it's that I've finally gotten my own heart back while you two losers are stuck with rentals."

It was a long shot, but as an annoyed Larxene fired off her lightning magic at Axel he figured that his best shot of surviving was starting to work. If he could get Larxene to lose her cool badly enough, he could try to take her down here and now before holding off Marluxia long enough for Kairi to realize what was wrong and then turn it two against one. Summoning his weapon, he managed to disrupt her attack with ease. He got himself ready for a fight with the blonde, but saw that she'd dropped her anger long enough to grow amused at something.

"What's wrong? I thought you were training to use a _Keyblade_," she taunted.

Darn it, as a reflex he'd summoned his regular chakrams. While these were probably the better weapons to use here since it was what he was familiar with, the fact that he still had to rely on these things as a Keyblade user probably wasn't the best message to be sending to the two of them right now.

"Against you two? Don't need it," he told them both calmly, trying to save face.

"I'm sure, but we're not here to fight you; there will be plenty of time for that later," Marluxia said. Larxene scowled slightly, but let her lightning fade away.

"Figured it was a little early to start the war, but you two weren't exactly showing up with roses… no offense 'Luxia." Marluxia didn't have anything to comment. "So if you're not here to fight, then why are either of you here?" Axel demanded. "Or better yet, _how _are either of you here?"

"Time magic, duh!" Larxene taunted like it was obvious. "It's how the _New Organization_ got the band back together after all, I'd stay in the loop if I were you."

'_Okay, now I REALLY wish I'd asked Luxord about Time Magic at poker,'_ Axel thought to himself with a ragged sigh.

"And for our reason," Marluxia began, not taking his now yellow eyes off of Axel. "We came here to see what's become of the _traitor_."

"Hey, if I remember right you two were traitors to the Organization long before I was," the redhead reminded, still keeping his chakrams out since he wasn't convinced things wouldn't be coming to blows. "If that's all then how's about you head back and report my wellbeing to the old man; let him know I'm still doing fine and I'll be ready to kick him and the rest of you to the curb when the time comes."

"You think we're here on Xehanort's orders? Idiot, we're here for us," Larxene told him. "But, it's a good thing he thinks he still needs you, otherwise-"

"I'd be dead where I stand? Yeah yeah, like I haven't had enough of that already," Axel waved off, annoying Larxene. "So if you can't kill me, why bother coming in the first place? Wanted one last reunion before we went at each other's throats again?"

"I just wanted to see how far you'd fallen," Marluxia told him honestly before smiling softly. "I'm not disappointed."

"So it's a verbal put down then, figures," the former Organization member muttered before figuring he had to get them back at least a little. "How's this one for you then? Ever feel like everything you did back a Castle Oblivion was completely useless?" Marluxia's smile faded, Axel saw that as his sign to keep going. "I mean what was your goal? Take control of Sora's memories and overtake the old Organization right? Well the kid scraped both of you, got his memories fixed, and still managed to overthrow the Organization. And where does that leave both of you? Right where you were in the first place; underneath Xemnas's thumb. And now you can't even fight back cause of those borrowed hearts Xehanort put in you." He laughed. "You keep saying that I've fallen, but truth is I got that little bit of freedom that you couldn't get close to even after all of that scheming."

_**CLANG!**_

In hindsight it was a good thing Axel had kept his chakrams out; he wouldn't have had time to summon them and block Marluxia's attack it's he'd let them go. His opponent's scythe was dangerously close to his neck, even after blocking the handle with both of his chakrams. Marluxia's face was tight in a blinding rage so fierce that even Larxene seemed to be startled by her partner. Axel only continued to smirk as he struggled to hold his former 'colleague' back.

"Careful there, you can't go and damage the goods before the old man needs me," he taunted. "_Got it memorized?"_

"Consider yourself lucky then," Marluxia hissed as he kept his scythe where it was, his words dripping with venom. "You have until the final act begins in full, savor the time you've been given until then."

"Even then, it's not up to you who you'll be fighting. You'll still be answering to Xemnas and Xehanort, just like always." Axel said once more getting in one final jab as he pushed the scythe off of him and forced its wielder back. To show how cocky he was feeling, he let his chakrams finally fade away and stood completely defenseless in front of two people who wanted him dead, almost daring them to come at him. "So… remind me again who's fallen?"

Marluxia didn't say another word, only continuing to glare at him. Larxene remained on the sidelines beside the two before waving her hand and conjuring a _Dark Corridor_ to get the both of them out of there. She started walking towards it in an annoyed huff before a thought seemed to dawn on her and she got a wicked idea.

"I'd hurry with your training if I were you, you're going to need all of the time you can get," she said to Axel, he didn't react. "This is supposed to be a world that has no bearing on time, isn't it? But if the two of us are here from the outside, isn't that enough to know to the enchantments been broken?"

'_...I'd hate to say it, but that actually makes perfect sense'_ he thought to himself as he realized they did have time on their side. '_This… is this what they were here for in the first place?'_

"I'll see you when the event finally gets up and going; you and that Keyblade you've been struggling with," Larxene taunted. She gave a wicked cackle as she headed into the _Dark Corridor_, finally disappearing into the portal.

"Until then," Marluxia threatened darkly as he let his scythe fade before he too started heading for the portal. He'd almost stepped through before stopping just a few inches from its edge. "...Your tattoos are gone."

"Those old things? I lost 'em when I became whole again," he informed. "What about it?"

"Nothing… I was just trying to understand why you looked different. That's why."

"It took you that long to figure it out? Okay…" Marluxia didn't offer a rebuttal as he finished heading into the portal, the _Dark Corridor_ finally closing once he'd disappeared from sight. Giving a sigh, Axel looked down at himself trying to get a gauge at his waistline. "Do I really look like I've put on weight though?"

"Axel!" came Kairi's voice. Turning, he saw that she was hurrying over to him with her Keyblade drawn, probably expecting some form of a fight. "What happened? I was busy practicing when I felt the darkness, but now it's completely gone."

"...Looks like our time here's not as limitless as we thought," he explained. "Organization stopped by and I think they put an end to it."

"And they didn't attack you?" she questioned. If Axel didn't know how innocent she was, he might've think she was suspecting him of something.

"Not much of a point to it; Xehanort needs seven lights and we're a struggling five at the moment; he won't be making a move until. As for the people that came here…" He crossed his arms, trying to figure out how to put this to her. "They're trying to get back at me from a time where I sorta crossed them, not exactly happy with me."

"Oh…" she said looking at her keyblade.

"Still think you can trust me? I'm not exactly breaking any records for being loyal here," he reminded. She might've been too good of a person to suspect him, but he needed her to carry at least a little doubt in her so she'd be safe. He didn't get what she wanted as she shook her head.

"I know that, but I still trust you. You saved Sora and Riku didn't you? Whenever you betray someone, it's to protect the people that you truly care about. That's a good thing to do," she told him giving a soft smile. Looking at her, he got that glimpse again. That girl with the dark hair and blue eyes, she looked about Roxas's height and age and smiled warmly like she knew him… but why couldn't he remember who she was? "Axel?"

"...I'll always be there to bring you back." He didn't know where those words were coming from, but they felt close to his heart; strong even. Looking to his right hand, he began focusing energy into his palm. This time he didn't even have to struggle as his Keyblade quickly formed, he could feel its power just by holding it and knew it was stable this time. Marveling at his new results, he smirked. "Come on then, we've got work to do."


End file.
